SWAP 34

[𝐅𝐫𝐢𝐞𝐧𝐝𝐥𝐲 𝐇𝐨𝐮𝐬𝐞 𝐌𝐨𝐯𝐞-𝐈𝐧 𝐆𝐮𝐢𝐝𝐞]

𝐖𝐞 𝐰𝐞𝐥𝐜𝐨𝐦𝐞 𝐲𝐨𝐮, 𝐝𝐞𝐚𝐫 𝐛𝐞𝐬𝐭 𝐟𝐫𝐢𝐞𝐧𝐝𝐬, 𝐭𝐨 𝐲𝐨𝐮𝐫 𝐧𝐞𝐰 𝐡𝐨𝐦𝐞!

𝐏𝐥𝐞𝐚𝐬𝐞 𝐛𝐞 𝐬𝐮𝐫𝐞 𝐭𝐨 𝐟𝐨𝐥𝐥𝐨𝐰 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐠𝐮𝐢𝐝𝐞𝐥𝐢𝐧𝐞𝐬 𝐛𝐞𝐥𝐨𝐰 𝐝𝐮𝐫𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐲𝐨𝐮𝐫 𝐭𝐰𝐨 𝐰𝐞𝐞𝐤𝐬 𝐭𝐨𝐠𝐞𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐫 :>

♣ 𝐁𝐞𝐬𝐭 𝐅𝐫𝐢𝐞𝐧𝐝 ☓ 𝐒𝐰𝐚𝐩 𝐢𝐬 𝐚 𝟐𝟒-𝐡𝐨𝐮𝐫 𝐜𝐮𝐥𝐭𝐮𝐫𝐞, 𝐨𝐛𝐬𝐞𝐫𝐯𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧, 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐡𝐞𝐚𝐥𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐯𝐚𝐫𝐢𝐞𝐭𝐲 𝐬𝐡𝐨𝐰. 𝐓𝐡𝐞 𝐟𝐨𝐮𝐫 𝐜𝐚𝐬𝐭 𝐦𝐞𝐦𝐛𝐞𝐫𝐬 𝐦𝐚𝐲 𝐟𝐫𝐞𝐞𝐥𝐲 𝐜𝐡𝐨𝐨𝐬𝐞 𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐢𝐫 𝐫𝐨𝐨𝐦𝐦𝐚𝐭𝐞𝐬.

(𝐇𝐨𝐰𝐞𝐯𝐞𝐫, 𝐫𝐨𝐨𝐦𝐦𝐚𝐭𝐞𝐬 𝐜𝐚𝐧𝐧𝐨𝐭 𝐛𝐞 𝐜𝐡𝐚𝐧𝐠𝐞𝐝 𝐚𝐟𝐭𝐞𝐫 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐟𝐢𝐫𝐬𝐭 𝐝𝐚𝐲.)

♣ 𝐌𝐞𝐚𝐥 𝐩𝐫𝐞𝐩𝐚𝐫𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐝𝐢𝐯𝐢𝐬𝐢𝐨𝐧 𝐨𝐟 𝐡𝐨𝐮𝐬𝐞𝐡𝐨𝐥𝐝 𝐜𝐡𝐨𝐫𝐞𝐬 𝐚𝐫𝐞 𝐥𝐞𝐟𝐭 𝐭𝐨 𝐲𝐨𝐮𝐫 𝐝𝐢𝐬𝐜𝐫𝐞𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧.

(𝐑𝐞𝐪𝐮𝐞𝐬𝐭: 𝐏𝐥𝐞𝐚𝐬𝐞 𝐛𝐞 𝐜𝐨𝐧𝐬𝐢𝐝𝐞𝐫𝐚𝐭𝐞 𝐨𝐟 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐯𝐢𝐞𝐰𝐞𝐫𝐬’ 𝐬𝐞𝐧𝐬𝐢𝐛𝐢𝐥𝐢𝐭𝐢𝐞𝐬.)

♣ 𝐓𝐡𝐞 ‘𝐁𝐞𝐬𝐭 𝐅𝐫𝐢𝐞𝐧𝐝 𝐨𝐟 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐃𝐚𝐲’ 𝐞𝐯𝐞𝐧𝐭 𝐰𝐢𝐥𝐥 𝐛𝐞 𝐮𝐩𝐝𝐚𝐭𝐞𝐝 𝐫𝐚𝐧𝐝𝐨𝐦𝐥𝐲 𝐞𝐚𝐜𝐡 𝐝𝐚𝐲.

𝐓𝐫𝐲 𝐬𝐰𝐚𝐩𝐩𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐛𝐞𝐬𝐭 𝐟𝐫𝐢𝐞𝐧𝐝𝐬 𝐭𝐨 𝐞𝐚𝐫𝐧 𝐟𝐫𝐢𝐞𝐧𝐝𝐬𝐡𝐢𝐩 𝐜𝐨𝐢𝐧𝐬! 𝐀 𝐬𝐩𝐞𝐜𝐢𝐚𝐥 𝐠𝐢𝐟𝐭 𝐦𝐚𝐲 𝐛𝐞 𝐰𝐚𝐢𝐭𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐟𝐨𝐫 𝐲𝐨𝐮 𝐨𝐧 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐥𝐚𝐬𝐭 𝐝𝐚𝐲.

(𝐖𝐚𝐫𝐧𝐢𝐧𝐠: 𝐎𝐧𝐜𝐞 𝐚 𝐜𝐡𝐨𝐢𝐜𝐞 𝐢𝐬 𝐦𝐚𝐝𝐞, 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐬𝐰𝐚𝐩 𝐜𝐚𝐧𝐧𝐨𝐭 𝐛𝐞 𝐫𝐞𝐯𝐞𝐫𝐬𝐞𝐝.)

♣ 𝐀𝐥𝐥 𝐢𝐭𝐞𝐦𝐬 𝐧𝐞𝐜𝐞𝐬𝐬𝐚𝐫𝐲 𝐟𝐨𝐫 𝐜𝐨𝐦𝐦𝐮𝐧𝐚𝐥 𝐥𝐢𝐯𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐦𝐮𝐬𝐭 𝐛𝐞 𝐩𝐮𝐫𝐜𝐡𝐚𝐬𝐞𝐝 𝐨𝐧𝐥𝐲 𝐰𝐢𝐭𝐡 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐞𝐧𝐜𝐥𝐨𝐬𝐞𝐝 𝐜𝐚𝐫𝐝.

(𝐖𝐚𝐫𝐧𝐢𝐧𝐠: 𝐀 𝐩𝐞𝐧𝐚𝐥𝐭𝐲 𝐰𝐢𝐥𝐥 𝐛𝐞 𝐢𝐦𝐩𝐨𝐬𝐞𝐝 𝐢𝐟 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐜𝐫𝐞𝐝𝐢𝐭 𝐥𝐢𝐦𝐢𝐭 𝐢𝐬 𝐞𝐱𝐜𝐞𝐞𝐝𝐞𝐝.)

(𝐓𝐡𝐞 𝐜𝐫𝐞𝐝𝐢𝐭 𝐥𝐢𝐦𝐢𝐭 𝐰𝐢𝐥𝐥 𝐧𝐨𝐭 𝐛𝐞 𝐝𝐢𝐬𝐜𝐥𝐨𝐬𝐞𝐝.)

𝐈𝐟 𝐲𝐨𝐮 𝐡𝐚𝐯𝐞 𝐚𝐧𝐲 𝐨𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐫 𝐢𝐧𝐪𝐮𝐢𝐫𝐢𝐞𝐬, 𝐩𝐥𝐞𝐚𝐬𝐞 𝐜𝐨𝐧𝐭𝐚𝐜𝐭 𝐮𝐬 𝐯𝐢𝐚 ‘𝐇𝐄𝐋𝐏’ 𝐚𝐭 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐛𝐨𝐭𝐭𝐨𝐦 𝐨𝐟 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐚𝐩𝐩!

𝐓𝐡𝐞 𝐩𝐫𝐨𝐝𝐮𝐜𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧 𝐭𝐞𝐚𝐦 𝐰𝐡𝐨𝐥𝐞𝐡𝐞𝐚𝐫𝐭𝐞𝐝𝐥𝐲 𝐜𝐡𝐞𝐞𝐫𝐬 𝐟𝐨𝐫 𝐲𝐨𝐮𝐫 𝐟𝐫𝐢𝐞𝐧𝐝𝐬𝐡𝐢𝐩.

Only after carefully reading down to the final notice could Seoul finally figure out the identity of the card in Ye Juyeol’s hand. Unlike previous seasons, which had no particular restrictions, this time it seemed they were providing a corporate card with a set budget.

But a credit limit?

Seeing the emphasis on ‘must,’ it seemed that everything needed here, like groceries and daily necessities, had to be paid for with this card…. He tilted his head, wondering why they wouldn’t disclose the amount. And what was this about a penalty?

“Hmm. How much do you think we can spend? A million? Five hundred thousand? …Don’t tell me it’s three hundred thousand?”

“What is it? Let me read it too.”

At the sight of Ye Juyeol talking nonsense, Yun Hyeok strode over and took the move-in guide he was holding.

His gaze, which had been smoothly scanning down the page, naturally got stuck on the final notice as well.

Realizing in an instant that they couldn’t swipe the card recklessly to avoid the penalty since they didn’t know the spending limit, he began to deduce coolly. Since four people would be living together for two weeks, he thought it would be at least over 500,000 won… but one could never be sure. There was a chance they could set a budget at a reasonable level, feel secure, and then get stabbed in the back.

Maybe there’s no limit at all to begin with.

Ye Juyeol and Yun Hyeok, having already been tossed around for several years in the jungle-like world of variety shows, suffered from a condition where they couldn’t take the production team’s instructions at face value. It wasn’t the first or second time they had experienced a trick where the staff would scare them silly only to reveal, Ta-da, it was a lie! The most untrustworthy people in the world were the broadcast station folks.

Most unsettling of all was the lack of a detailed explanation about the penalty. As their suspicions grew from various angles, they noticed that Seoul’s and Saheon’s reactions were subtle.

As if feeling their gazes, Seoul, who had been lost in thought, lifted his head.

His voice, when he asked a beat later, was full of bewilderment.

“Uh, so… our living expenses are limited right now?”

“Yep!”

“I think it’s probably a new rule added this time.”

“I see.”

He said, “I see,” but Seoul’s face was a mess of question marks.

He nodded with a face that clearly couldn’t comprehend the intention behind limiting their living expenses, then slowly sidled up to Saheon.

Unaware that everyone was pretending not to, but was actually focused on him, Seoul glanced around once before moving close to Saheon and starting to whisper. His voice was so low it was hard to hear, but piecing it together, it seemed he was wondering if the program was short on production funds, and if so, whether he should inquire about using his personal card.

From Ye Juyeol and Yun Hyeok’s perspective, they couldn’t help but wonder what kind of outlandish thing he was saying.

Given Lee Seoul’s personality, he definitely wasn’t being sarcastic, so could he really be thinking that the production team added this rule to actually save money?

They thought, how could that be, for such a successful variety program, and then they realized something.

Ah. This is his first variety show.

He had once seen an interview where he said he only watched dramas or movies. If that was the case, this format itself might be a first for him. The production team, knowing this fact well, would have added this rule.

Well, it was pretty famous that Seo Saheon and Lee Seoul came from wealthy families. They could figure out what kind of picture they wanted to see. Even they had to admit that the scene of these two, who had never worried about money a day in their lives, trembling over a single card swipe would be interesting.

Seeing Seoul thinking of offering up his own personal card, oblivious to the dark intentions of those broadcast station folks, made them feel frustrated—no, not at all. On the contrary, they felt a budding sense of responsibility they never had before, and they naturally exchanged glances.

“……”

“……”

We… should take responsibility for the variety aspect.

As if communicating through telepathy without words, Ye Juyeol clenched his fist and whipped his body around to face Seoul. It was time to protect his favorite celebrity with all the variety show experience he had accumulated over the years.

“Sunbae-nim…! I really can’t stand it. The production team is messing with us. How badly must they have wanted to film us trembling every time we swipe the card…! I didn’t think you were like this, Producer-nim, but you’re so sly! A cheapskate…!”

He shouted the last part towards the nearest observation camera. It was a provocation, attempted because he knew they would be sitting in the control room watching this whole scene. Of course, Ye Juyeol and Producer Jeon Jaeyeon already knew each other from working on another program together and were close on a personal level.

But Seoul, who had no way of knowing the real situation, could only stare with wide, rabbit-like eyes at Ye Juyeol’s sudden outburst.

This is all being filmed, but, is it really okay to say that to the producer?

In the meantime, Yun Hyeok, having received the baton, raised the move-in guide he was holding high into the air. Towards the observation camera, of course.

“That’s right. We weren’t told about this at the pre-meeting either. The cast from other seasons got to eat whatever delicious food they wanted, so why do we have to dip our seaweed in a tiny soy sauce dish? Two weeks of boiling one packet of ramen and splitting it for breakfast, lunch, and dinner… this isn’t Best Friend Swap, it’s best friend abuse.”

“Hear, hear!”

No one had said they had to eat like that.

But Yun Hyeok declared it with a solemn face, as if he were part of an independence movement.

“I officially protest.”

“Producer Jeon Jaeyeon must awaken! Awaken!”

“……”

“……”

It was, in a word, a skit.

Seoul was now watching the smoothly flowing back-and-forth with a look of some wonder.

Is that kind of thing innate? Or is it a skill that gets honed the more variety shows you do? It was a spirit he could never muster, even if he died and came back to life, so his hands naturally came together. If he had been watching this on a TV screen, he would have applauded, but since it was happening right in front of him, he couldn’t.

Not long after the unceasing protest—read: whining—began, Ye Juyeol’s phone started vibrating like crazy.

He, who had been calling out all sorts of nicknames for Producer Jeon Jaeyeon towards the lens, immediately unlocked it. As expected, a message from the production team had arrived in his notification window.

HELP

—Ask us anything!—

[Really]

[You’re going to be like this?]

[What do you mean, awakenㅠ]

[Why are you doing this, with Mr. Yun Hyeok joining in??]

[ε—(‘ﾍ´○)┓]

[Producer Jeon]

[I can’t back down either]

[I’m going to eat delicious food with sunbae-nim]

[Hurry up and come down]

[People should talk face to face!]

[I told you]

[This season’s concept is a culture and observation variety show]

[We are minimizing contact with the production team]

[I’m lying down for now]

There was no need to hear any more.

Putting down his phone, Ye Juyeol lay down on the living room floor in a starfish position without a second’s hesitation. Taking it a step further, he even closed his eyes, and Yun Hyeok, who was next to him, began to film the scene with a camera. For reference, Ye Juyeol had a history of enduring in this state for several hours on another program.

And as luck would have it, that program was the variety show he had done with Producer Jeon.

Producer Jeon knew better than anyone how Ye Juyeol acted like a man possessed with clear eyes once he made up his mind, so the phone rang again.

HELP

—Ask us anything!—

[Juyeol…..]

[I already had a hard day filming Mr. Saheon today….]

[꒰(๑•᷅ﮧ•᷄ )꒱ว⊹]

[Hah]

[That darn emoticon, really]

[I’m coming, I’m coming….]

He had appealed to his sympathy, but there was no way it would work.

At Ye Juyeol’s action of sending just one emoticon and then playing dead again, Producer Jeon, who was in the control room, had no choice but to declare a truce. Not long after, the front door opened and a group of production staff members came pouring in. It seemed he couldn’t handle it alone, so he had brought others along as reinforcements.

You despicable…!

Ye Juyeol, who had sprung up from the floor, was indignant.

Whether he knew that his own act of lying down had been the most despicable of all, he looked around, and when a familiar face came into his radar, he started running towards it at full speed.